GOP opposition looks past Clinton to Obama

Republican third-party groups are sharpening their knives in anticipation of an Obama nomination, Newsweekreports.

That the ideological sharks from both sides of the political spectrum are already gathering in the water (or maybe they never leave) should come as no surprise given the rise in recent election cycles of the so-called 527s groups such as the infamous Swift Boaters, who were so effective against Kerry in 2004.

If Democratic opposition groups are focusing on Sen. Barack Obama as the likely nominee, that certainly is another indication that Sen. Hillary Clinton might truly be approaching the end of her run. Clinton is expected to win big in the West Virginia primary today, although most media reports suggest it will be too little, too late.

But Senior Democratic party leaders have yet to exert any public pressure on Clinton to drop out, and her team continues to say it's in the race to win -- or at least until someone gets to the magic number of 2,209 delegates, which would include Florida and Michigan.

Those two states remain key, because Obama continues to pick up the support of those coveted superdelegates at a faster rate than Clinton. Only about 200 superdelegates still sit on the fence. Clinton's best hopes now appear to lie in her team's ability to persuade or negotiate with DNC officials for those Florida and Michigan delegates. A compromise reportedly offered by Obama's team won't be enough.